While there are two teams with more wins, and five teams with fewer losses, no squad heads into this week’s NJCAA Division III national tournament with more respect than Rock Valley College’s women.

RVC (26-5) bolts into its third straight national-tourney appearance — and its fourth in the past six years — on a 15-game winning streak, and the two-time defending national champs have been ranked No. 1 in the nation for over a year.

So while all seven of the other teams will be waiting, and hoping, for the Golden Eagles to take a fall, RVC’s players are not sitting around expecting anything like that to happen.

“We know when we step out onto that court, nobody’s going to like us. Everybody’s going to want to knock us off,” said former-Dakota standout Aleesha Cleaver, who is one of RVC’s most all-around player. “We’re confident in everything we do, though. We know we’re good, and other teams have a hard time stopping us when we get going.”

Cleaver averages 10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.9 assists, and she’s just one of the many weapons for the Golden Eagles. They average 85.0 points per game, second in the nation, and their 16.7 steals are the third most in the nation, proving that their defense is as dangerous as their offense.

“We’ve got great leadership, and our captains just never let us slack or let down — on either side of the court,” said guard Sam Rundblade, a former Rockford Lutehran standout who’s averaging 7.6 points per game and is shooting a team-best 36.8 percent from 3-point land. “We can go after teams in a lot of ways.”

Four players are averaging in double figures in scoring for RVC, led by Marquiesha Grant (18.9 points per game), who has the 11th most points in the nation (585) and is also sixth in the country with 150 assists. The team’s 5-foot-6 post player Yowana Posey is 25th in the nation with 114 offensive rebounds, and she’s helped RVC to a rebounding margin of plus-9.7, 20th in D-III this season.

The top-seeded Golden Eagles open Thursday at 1 p.m. against the eighth seeds from Massasoit (16-6), who come into the tourney with the fewest wins and second-most losses. The title game is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday.